Barely two months before opening night of its 100th anniversary season, Cincinnati Opera has announced that, as a result of the coronavirus crisis, the company is forced to cancel its 2020 Summer Festival.

Christopher Milligan, general director and CEO, and Evans Mirageas, artistic director, wrote in an email to subscribers:

“This is particularly difficult to share with you now, on the eve of our 100th anniversary celebration. At this moment, however, the trajectory of the pandemic is unknown. Public orders currently prevent our artists, production crews, and staff from safely assembling to prepare for our season, a process that begins months in advance of opening night. We have followed guidance from public health experts while maintaining hope that we could move forward, but it is now clear we are unable to do so. With the uncertainty surrounding the resumption of public gatherings, it is our responsibility to act in favor of the continued safety of our audiences, artists, staff, and community.”

The company said that is committed to providing some compensation to all of the nearly 400 professionals who appear onstage and work backstage to make the season happen—from singers and musicians to stage technicians and artisans. It is also committed to keeping its year-round staff intact.

Those who have purchased 2020 tickets and subscriptions are encouraged to donate them back to Cincinnati Opera — now a familiar refrain in opera companies and orchestras around the country. The Harry T. Wilks Family Foundation, Nanci Wilks Lanni & Nick Lanni, and Barbara Wilks have generously established an Artists Relief Matching Gift Fund to match all ticket donations dollar for dollar.

The Ball of the Century, which was to have been opening night of the 2020 season, has been rescheduled to June 19, 2021. For those sponsors and individuals who have already purchased tickets, those reservations will be honored for the rescheduled event, with more details to follow.

Programming for the 2021 season will be announced soon. It will include the world premiere operas “Fierce” and “Castor and Patience,” which were commissioned for the 100th anniversary.

And, as opera lovers around the world gravitate to the many digital opera offerings during the pandemic, Cincinnati Opera will be debuting new programs, as well, such as its recently launched digital series, Apartment Arias, featuring at-home performances by artists from the 2020 season. Keep an eye on social channels and visit Cincinnati Opera’s Opera at Home page to see what’s new.

Cincinnati Opera is the nation’s second-oldest continuous opera company, after New York’s Metropolitan Opera. The historic roots of its summer festival include presenting opera at Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden for its first 50 years – affectionately called “the peacock and prima donna days” due to the screeching animals that sometimes competed with the arias. In 1972, it moved into Music Hall in Over-the-Rhine.

It was to open on June 18 with Rossini’s “The Barber of Seville,” with Isabel Leonard making her company debut as Rosina. The season included the first-ever production of Dvořák’s beautiful mermaid tale, “Rusalka,” and was to conclude on a grand note with Verdi’s “Aida.”

Cincinnati Opera is one of nation’s few opera companies with a major orchestra in its pit, the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, thanks to the Louise Dieterle Nippert Musical Arts Fund.